Christy v. Conrad
| Docket Number | Supreme Court No. S-17788 |
| Decision Date | 10 February 2023 |
| Citation | 524 P.3d 231 |
| Parties | Rebecca CHRISTY and Samuel Christy, Appellants, v. Charles CONRAD and Marcie Conrad, Appellees. |
| Court | Alaska Supreme Court |
Lynda A. Limón and Randi R. Vickers, Limón Law Firm, Anchorage, for Appellants.
Herbert M. Pearce, Law Offices of Herbert M. Pearce, Anchorage, for Appellees.
Before: Winfree, Chief Justice, Maassen, Carney, Borghesan, and Henderson, Justices.
When a grandparent seeks court-ordered visitation against parents' wishes, the grandparent must prove by clear and convincing evidence that it is detrimental to the child to limit visitation to what the child's otherwise fit parents have deemed reasonable. In this case the superior court granted visitation to grandparents after finding that the children enjoyed a positive relationship "typical of a grandparent-child relationship" and that the parents' motive for cutting off contact with the grandparents was spiteful. We reverse the court's ruling. The parents' motive for ending visitation does not show that the lack of visitation is detrimental to the children. And the mere fact that children enjoy a positive or typical relationship with their grandparents does not amount to clear and convincing evidence that ending visitation is detrimental to the children. Absent such evidence, it is error to order visitation that a fit parent does not wish to allow.
Rebecca and Sam Christy were the paternal grandparents of the two children at issue in this case. The Christys adopted the children in 2017. Marcie and Charles Conrad were the maternal grandparents of the children prior to the adoption. This case concerns the Conrads' ability to seek visitation against the Christys' wishes.
The children's birth parents struggled with substance abuse. When the older child was born in May 2013, she and her birth mother — the Conrads' daughter — briefly lived with the Conrads. Shortly after the birth the Conrads involved OCS because they were concerned about the mother's ability to safely parent the child.
OCS took custody of the older child in July 2013. Around that time, the Conrads and Christys agreed that the child should live with the Christys on weekdays and have unsupervised visitation with the Conrads on weekends. OCS placed the child with the Christys in August 2013. This arrangement initially worked well for all parties. In May 2014 OCS began requiring supervision of the Conrads' visits because of reports that they allowed the mother unsupervised access to the child.
Shortly thereafter the relationship between the Conrads and Christys began to deteriorate. The Conrads accused the Christys of using drugs and not providing a safe and stable home for the child. OCS investigated these claims and determined that placement with the Christys was still proper.
In April 2015 the younger child was born. A few days later OCS took custody of the younger child and placed him with the Christys. The Conrads had supervised visitation with the younger child only once or twice per month.
In February 2016 the Conrads requested a placement review hearing for both children. After a hearing the superior court affirmed OCS's decision to place both children with the Christys. In March 2016 the parental rights of the birth mother and birth father were terminated. The children's birth mother later died in 2018.
In June 2017 the Christys adopted both children. Shortly after the adoption was finalized, the Christys stopped all visitation between the children and the Conrads. The Christys did not notify the Conrads directly of their decision; the Conrads learned of the decision from OCS when they went to OCS for a scheduled visit.
In March 2018 the Conrads filed a complaint for visitation.1 The superior court held a trial to determine if visitation should be ordered.
At trial the Conrads described their relationship with the children as positive, noting that the children appeared excited to see them and referred to them as "Grandma" and "Grandpa." The Conrads described their supervised visits, which entailed reading to the children, playing with them, and celebrating holidays and their birthdays. The Conrads stated that they tried to see the children "as much as [they] could" and that they sought additional visitation. The Conrads stated that they wished only to be involved as grandparents; they did not want to interfere with how the Christys were raising the children. The Conrads also emphasized the general importance of grandparents being involved in grandchildren's lives, asserting that a lack of grandparent involvement would be harmful because "[k]ids need family."
The Christys testified about why they cut off contact with the Conrads. First, the Christys expressed concerns about the Conrads disrupting their ability to parent the children. Specifically, they stated that the Conrads disregarded the boundaries they set for the children by, for example, feeding the older child dairy products despite the child's allergies. Second, the Christys testified to substantial friction between the two families. Rebecca Christy described an incident in which the Conrads visited their home and Charles Conrad "spoke about me to [the older child] in the other room in an aggressive manner," which made Rebecca feel "extremely uncomfortable." The Christys also described feeling "attack[ed]" by the Conrads' accusations — voiced both to OCS and to members of the Christys' community — that the Christys were unfit parents, including false claims that Sam Christy used synthetic marijuana. Third, the Christys stated that they felt it was their "constitutional right to choose who [their] children see and who [their] children don't see."
The Christys also put on testimony that the children were not harmed by the Conrads' absence. Rebecca testified that, after visitation stopped, the older child had not asked about the Conrads and had not asked to see them. The older child's elementary school teacher and the younger child's preschool teacher testified that the children have been doing quite well since the adoption. The older child's teacher said the Christys "were fantastic" in working with the older child and her learning disabilities. The teacher reported that the older child was "really happy" and "everything seemed really solid." The younger child's teacher said that the child has been making great progress and is "super confident now in [his] own abilities." The teacher said she believes the younger child was "getting a lot of the things he needs at home." Additionally, a family friend of the Christys testified that visitation with the Conrads did not seem to benefit the children. Specifically, the friend testified that, after a visit with the Conrads, the older child seemed "very somber," which was "very unlike her."
After the trial the superior court issued a written order granting the Conrads visitation. The court applied the legal framework established in Ross v. Bauman , which requires that a grandparent seeking court-ordered visitation against a fit parent's wishes must establish (1) that visitation is in the child's best interests and (2) that the parent's preferred level of visitation is detrimental to the child.2
The superior court first ruled that visitation with the Conrads was in the children's best interests. It found that "the children enjoyed a positive relationship" with the Conrads that was "typical of a grandparent-child relationship." The court ruled that continuing this relationship was "in the children's best interests." The court also ruled that the manner in which the relationship was severed was contrary to the children's best interests, because "the children ... [had not] anticipated" the "sudden cessation" of visits and had not received "[any] explanation ... as to what happened to the Conrads." Finally the court ruled it was best for the children "to maintain a connection to their biological maternal side" of the family, which would only be possible through contact with the Conrads, the children's only living relatives on that side.
The court next ruled that ceasing all visitation would be detrimental to the children. This ruling rested on the court's finding that "the only reason the Christys denied visitation with the Conrads is pure spite." The court concluded that "[t]his toxic impetus is clearly detrimental to the best interests of the children."
The Christys appealed, challenging (1) an evidentiary ruling and (2) the adequacy of the superior court's findings.3 After considering the parties' briefing and oral arguments, we issued an order reversing the superior court's grant of visitation to the Conrads. We explain our reasoning here.
We review a court's method of admitting evidence for abuse of discretion.4 We review factual findings under the clearly erroneous standard.5 Whether factual findings are sufficient to support an award of visitation to a third party is a legal issue to which we apply our independent judgment.6
We first address a threshold evidentiary matter. At trial the Christys sought to introduce a compact disc (CD) containing the testimony of a now-deceased social worker, who testified at the 2016 placement review hearing about relations between the Conrads, the Christys, and the children. The superior court agreed that this testimony was admissible. Yet the court declined to admit the CD as an exhibit, telling the parties it would listen to the prior testimony by accessing it through the court system's recording archives. The Christys did not object to this approach.
On appeal the Christys argue that the superior court erred by declining to admit the testimony and suggest the court may not have actually listened to it before making its ruling. But it is clear...
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